Uber plans to bring its premium Uber Black ride service to most of India’s big cities, after a recent launch in Pune, in western India, according to a report in Mint. Uber, which is based in San Francisco, California, runs ride-hailing in India and offers Uber Black as its chauffeur-style tier.
Aditya Kapoor, director of supply operations for Uber India and South Asia, said the company has not set a confirmed list of cities. He said Uber is looking to expand into all the metros “very soon.”
A second try at premium. Uber offered a premium service when it entered India in 2013, then suspended it in 2014. It brought Uber Black back in 2024. The service now runs in Mumbai, in western India; Delhi, in northern India; and Bengaluru, in southern India, as well as Pune. Rides include a quiet mode, temperature control and help with luggage.
Uber relies on fleet partners to supply the vehicles, among them Carrum Mobility. Kapoor said the cars are mostly SUVs, with Toyota a key brand, and that drivers must have prior experience in similar roles and get more training. A fleet partner in the middle makes sense for that reason, he said. Uber invested $10 million in Carrum in September as part of its Series B funding round. Karan Jain, Carrum’s founder, said in an earlier report that Uber Black makes up 20% of Carrum’s fleet and that the share will grow.
Competition is rising. Other players going after the same riders, among them Alyte, a premium service owned by Mahindra Logistics, and Shoffr, a startup that runs electric cars with chauffeurs.
The numbers behind Uber’s India business. Uber India’s operating revenue rose 2% to $404 million in the fiscal year ending March 2025. In February 2026, Uber put nearly $315 million into its India unit, including funds from its Dutch arm, as it faces competition from Ola and from Rapido, a startup in Bengaluru.
Why this matters. For American companies watching India’s consumer market, a premium ride service signals demand for higher-priced services, and Uber is betting on it with fleet partners rather than its own cars.
